Arch Enemy

Revision as of 13:11, 26 June 2008

Arch Enemy

Arch Enemy is a Metal band from Sweden that was formed by brothers Michael and Christian Amott and bassist/singer John Liiva in 1996. With both Michael Amott and John Liiva coming from successfull Death Metal bands they attempted to go a more melodic way with Arch Enemy. The most remarkable thing about Arch Enemy is the female vocalist Angela Gossow because female gutural growling singers are rarely seen.

1996-2000: The John Liiva Years

After the disband of his former Death/Grind band Carcass guitarist Michael Amott wanted to form his own band to play his prefered style of Death Metal: Melodic Death Metal. He also always wanted to play in the same band with his younger brother Christopher Amott and therefore he took him in as second guitarist. The vocal and bass spot was filled by an old friend of Michael from his days with his first band Carnage: John Liiva. Session drumer Daniel Erlandsson completed the first lineup.

The debut record that was recorded in the same year was called Black Earth and it became a remarkable success in Sweden and Japan. The record is known to be Arch Enemy's heaviest record but the path Michael had chosen showed what Arch Enemy would sound like in the future. The band was signed by Century Media and hired bassist Martin Bengtsson to let John be able to focus on his vocals. In 1998 the second record Stigmata was now released worldwide and was sold a decent amount of times, granting the band the attention of even more listeners.

The band's sound finally switched to a more melodic approach with 1999s Burning Bridges which had even instrumental tracks on it. The record was followed by a live record called Burning Japan Live 1999 which was originally intended for Japanese release only because the band became such a strong support from Japanese days from day one. In 2000 vocalist John Liiva was kicked out of the band because his live performances were not energetic enough for bandleader Michael Amott. Suprisingly the vocal spot was filled by female German journalist and amateur Death Metal vocalist Angela Gossow who handed a Demo of her singing to Michael after she interviewed him for a metal magazine.

2001-Today: The Angela Gossow Years

Many fans were upset to see a girl as the singer of their favourite band especially because of the love relationship between Angela and Michael the fans feared that she was chosen just because of that fact. But she was taken into the band before the actual relationship because of her vocal skills: Angela is capable of deep and shallow growls despite the fact that she is a woman; actually she can growls even lower than some of her male equivalents. With her flawless performance she was accepted by most of the old fans. The first record with Angela Wages Of Sin from 2001 became Arch Enemys breakthrough record to a bigger mass of listeners and the band played the first Headlining tours aswell as the Headliner spot at the Japanese Beast Feast 2002. The record had a wider range of vocals (including Angela's signature high banshee screams) and showed the talent of the Amott brothers on the guitar better than any other record. The band finally found the perfect gap between Heaviness and Melody.

Anthems Of Rebellion, the second record with Angela as vocalist was released in 2003. It can almost be considered as a concept record because all the vocals are about freedom and resistance against tyranny (a theme that is very present in all Arch Enemy records). After 2005's record Doomsday Machine Christopher Amott decided to quit the band to finish his studys and because he was tired of touring the globe. Doomsday Machine had many old school Heavy Metal influences. For the upcoming tours Christopher was replaced by Gus G. of Firewind and after him by Frederic Akesson , who is now Opeth's new guitarist. For 2007's Rise of the Tyrant Christopher rejoined the band after finishing University. The record became Arch Enemy's commercially most successfull record so far.

Most Important Record: Wages Of Sin

1. Enemy within
2. Burning angel
3. Heart of darkness
4. Ravenous
5. Savage Messiah
6. Dead bury their dead
7. Web of lies
8. The first deadly sin
9. Behind the smile
10. Snow bound
11. Shadows and dust
12. Lament of a mortal soul

Musical Style

Angela Gossow

Michael and Christian Ammott

Discography

Studio Records

   * 1996: Black Earth
   * 1998: Stigmata
   * 1999: Burning Bridges
   * 2001: Wages of Sin
   * 2003: Anthems of Rebellion
   * 2005: Doomsday Machine
   * 2007: Rise of the Tyrant

EPs

   * 2002: Burning Angel (EP)
   * 2004: Dead Eyes See No Future (EP)
   * 2007: Revolution Begins (EP)

Liverecords and DVDs

   * 1999: Burning Japan Live
   * 2006: Live Apocalypse (Live DVD)